Gold Soars While Bitcoin Stumbles: The Financial Circus Unfolds! 🎪💰

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What to know:

  • Ah, Bitcoin, the elusive creature, tantalizingly close to record highs yet still playing hard to get! 🧐
  • Trump’s tariff threats have traders in a tizzy, scrambling to borrow gold like it’s the last slice of pizza at a party. 🍕
  • Gold-backed tokens, XAUT and PAXG, are riding the coattails of XAU’s ascent, proving that imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery. 🎩
  • Tokyo’s inflation is on the rise, validating the Bank of Japan’s rate hikes—because who doesn’t love a good financial rollercoaster? 🎢

So close yet so far—such is the tragicomedy of Bitcoin (BTC) this fine Friday morn, as its price rally has hit a wall just shy of record highs, while gold (XAU), the traditional darling of risk-averse investors, continues to bask in the limelight.

BTC, the reigning monarch of cryptocurrencies, is currently trading at a princely sum of $104,400. Just a mere 4.7% away from a new lifetime high, according to the ever-reliable CoinDesk data. 📈

Alas, President Trump’s tariff threats have clipped BTC’s wings, leaving some to fear an extended sell-off before the next grand bullish wave sweeps in like a dramatic plot twist. But fear not, for the onchain derivatives market seems to have a different script in mind.

“While some crypto seers predict BTC will plummet before soaring to $250K later this year, the Derive.xyz market remains a skeptic. In fact, there’s a 9.7% chance of BTC dipping below $75K before March, and an even more unlikely 4.4% chance of it soaring over $250K before September 26,” quipped Nick Forster, the oracle of the decentralized onchain options platform Derive.xyz, to CoinDesk. 🧙‍♂️

Meanwhile, flows on Deribit and the CME remain bullish, as momentum builds for state-level BTC reserves in the U.S. Gold, that timeless safe haven, and its tokenized companions are on the rise, while Tokyo’s inflation uptick supports the bullish case for the anti-risk yen. 💴

Gold hits lifetime high

Gold has ascended to a record high of $2,799 per ounce, taking its month-to-date gain to a dazzling 6.5%. This glittering milestone comes as participants in the London bullion market rush to borrow the yellow metal from central banks, spurred by whispers of heightened gold deliveries to the U.S. The frenzy is reportedly fueled by fears of impending import tariffs, according to the ever-watchful Reuters. 🏦

According to Jeroen Blokland, the illustrious founder of Blokland Smart Multi-Asset Fund, gold’s meteoric rise against major fiat currencies hints at a delightful game of currency debasement. The intentional devaluation of paper money could very well spark a newfound demand for alternative investments, such as our beloved cryptocurrencies. 💎

Gold-backed tokens are already basking in the glow of the XAU price rise, though they continue to trade at a discount to the illustrious yellow metal. Tether gold (XAUT) has reached its lifetime high of $2,796 on Bitfinex, while PAXG is teasing a move to record highs above $2,800. Talk about a golden opportunity! ✨

Tokyo inflation surges, AUD/JPY looks south

Consumer inflation in Tokyo, the harbinger of nationwide trends, has quickened its pace, as government data reveals. Notably, the core figure, which excludes the notoriously volatile food and energy components, rose 2.5% in January from a year earlier, compared to the 2.4% increase seen in December. 📊

This rapid annual increase is a recipe for more Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate hikes and a potential strengthening of the yen. Last week, the central bank raised the policy rate to 0.5%, the highest in over 16 years—because who doesn’t love a good interest rate hike? 📈

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2025-01-31 09:21